HINDSIGHT

***This poem was fashioned after a dream I had a while back, after a talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland about how "it will be all right in the end." In the dream I was living in the house I grew up in, in Battle Ground, Indiana, and on the living room floor was a quilt that was kinda like a cabbage patch--I was babysitting a dozen or so babies, each popping out of a separate quilt square. They were all too young to even stand up...probably around 6-7 months old. Most of them were sleeping, except this one that kept crying, so I went to pick the poor thing up--and realized it was me. Some freaky time thing happened, and I was holding myself, singing to myself, trying to comfort myself. This is the gist of the lullaby I was singing.***

Where you are, I’ve been down that road before.
The tears flow so freely you can’t keep them anymore.

When your heart breaks, when things don’t go quite the way you planned,
So many mistakes, and you just can’t understand

(chorus)
What he said, and what she did,
And how they forgot, and why you were denied.
What you want, and what we all need
Is a good laugh, and a good cry.
When life throws you curveballs,
And it seems like these four walls
Are closing in, the air’s too thin,
Can’t think or breathe or see,
Just remember, please (remember, please, remember, please)…
It’s worth the fight. Hold on tight.
Everything’s gonna be all right.
How do I know?
Hindsight.

Maybe nobody else will ever see
The spectacular I see in you,
But someday you’ll discover all that you are
And you will see it in yourself, too…

And isn’t that all that really matters, anyway?

You’ve got the seeds of greatness
Planted deep within your soul,
Don’t let the little things
Make you give up and lose control.

(chorus)

Believe in yourself. Believe in the heavens.
Believe that something good can happen, even to you.
Especially for you.
Believe that this moment is just a moment in time,
Don’t lose sight of all the hope that tomorrow brings.
Let these words ring true, let your heart sing.

It’s worth the fight. Hold on tight.
Everything’s gonna be all right.
How do I know?
Hindsight.

Music and Lyrics

I have some crazy aspirations. I love music, and play a little here and there. A few years ago I decided that I was going to learn the guitar so I could write music (I've done some stuff on piano, but it's a lot easier to strum a few chords and be done with it). So I started writing poetry that could be lyrics to my oh-so-incredible someday-songs. Lots more self-expression.

Well, I just sold my guitar to make rent money. So we'll see how far that actually goes. I'm young yet...

Anywho, the point is that I am now going to post some of those someday-songs for your entertainment. Mostly I want to purge my completed poems so that in the future, you will have only my newest and freshest stuff. All of these "songs" were written between 2004 and 2007.

I've learned a few things since then. ;)

INDEPENDENCE DAY 2002

***I work through my emotions in writing. I can't remember a time when that wasn't true--whether in a journal, a list, a poem, a piece of fiction, or a letter to a friend, I've always felt unsettled and unsatisfied until I've been able to find the words to record my feelings. While I don't necessarily view poetry as solely a means of self-expression, writing helps me sort through things. After September 11th, I started writing a poem each Independence Day, and I wish I had kept them all because you could really see the healing process as I came to terms with the human condition, war, and my ever-changing definition of freedom. While I can't share them all with you because I no longer have them, I have this poem, the one that started them all, written in a tiny dorm room 1500 miles away. It's a little anthem-y, not because I think that's poetically best but because it's what my heart needed when I wrote it. Enjoy.***


A crash—a flash! Then all was still.
A silence o’er the country broke.
The nation wept, the world looked on—
Two mighty tow’rs went up in smoke.

So many dead, so many lost,
So many more in mourning prayer,
Then what? A song, triumphant yet—
Our anthem floated through the air.

The stars and stripes may have been burned
By those confused, lost souls of men,
But who can doubt the courage-pride
We felt to be American?

Be proud of your strong heritage,
The faith of those who went before.
Thank God for freedom! Pray that we
May keep it, now and evermore.

BUBBLES

***note: this is one of the poems I wrote in high school for our poetry portfolio...I am posting this and others from that time (almost a decade ago) in the hopes of (a) showing my progress, (b) filling up the space, and (c) likely eliciting a few laughs***


There was something about the way the sun danced off
Of those blond curls, and
The way her baby blue eyes squinted against the daylight,
Straining to catch a glimpse of the translucent bubble
She had blown.
There was something about the way her nose wrinkled gaily
When the bubble brushed against it and
Popped,
And the way her cheeks flushed as Daddy
Picked up the wand
And blew a myriad of bright hues around her.
There was something about the way her dimples deepened
With a giggle,
And the way she danced barefoot around the front yard,
And the way Daddy’s head was thrown back into a
Chuckle as he watched.
There was something about the scent of lilacs
And roses
That pervaded the air, and something
About the way Mama sighed contentedly as she
Folded the picnic blanket
And placed it in the wicker basket.
There was something about that girl,
About that family,
About that sunny summer day
That made me want to
Cry.

EPIGRAMS

***note: this is one of the poems I wrote in high school for our poetry portfolio...I am posting this and others from that time (almost a decade ago) in the hopes of (a) showing my progress, (b) filling up the space, and (c) likely eliciting a few laughs***


“The Fool”

If cash for your dishonest
And laziness you’re wishin’,
Then kiss a baby, shake a had—
Become a politician!

“It Could Be”

The world’s not all it should be.
Perfection’s what it could be.
If through a trial
I spied a smile
I’m positive it would be.

“Only on Sundays”

“Yes, I’m a Christian!” shouted he
To all the people ‘round him.
But once alone, forgot the fact,
Then blushed when others found him.
“What did I do?” he hotly asked
When mother chose to ground him.
His mother’s silence chilled his blood;
The answer would astound him.

PARTING WITH STARS

***note: this is one of the poems I wrote in high school for our poetry portfolio...I am posting this and others from that time (almost a decade ago) in the hopes of (a) showing my progress, (b) filling up the space, and (c) likely eliciting a few laughs***

The woman sat there weeping as
The night turned into day.
A yearning deep within her begged
The brilliant stars to stay.

Throughout the night she’d gazed in awe
And wonder at the sky,
But now, as dawn revealed itself,
She wept and knew not why.

“There’s something in those stars,” she sighed,
“That grand, celestial show—
I feel something like gratefulness
Whene’er I see them glow.”

But as the sun climbed higher up,
She saw the starlight fade.
“Oh please, don’t let me lose these now,”
The woman humbly prayed.

“I’ve lost too much already; I
Am feeling quite bereft.
If these You also take away,
Then I’ll have nothing left.”

A whisper from within her soul
Then made her heart to burn,
For though the stars would fade, she knew
The next night they’d return.

LIGHTNING

***note: this is one of the poems I wrote in high school for our poetry portfolio...I am posting this and others from that time (almost a decade ago) in the hopes of (a) showing my progress, (b) filling up the space, and (c) likely eliciting a few laughs***